BACKGROUND: Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) is one of the most well studied and performed procedures in the world. Thus, it would be useful to develop a tool to predict patient outcomes post-operatively to allow clinicians to optimise management. PURPOSE: To identify and summarise factors predictive of graft failure and patient-reported outcome (PROM) measures at minimum two years after ACLR with single-bundle quadruple hamstring autograft via the anteromedial portal technique...

Rupture of the proximal tendon enthesis of the hamstring muscle (ICM) accounts for approximately 10% of all injuries of the ICM. It occurs most commonly in athletes and active middle-aged individuals. The complete rupture of all three tendons in active patients is generally seen as an indication for surgical repair of the tendon enthesis; however, the correct diagnosis is often not reached in a timely manner. This can lead to prolonged symptoms with pain, weakness and neuralgia. Operative treatment consists of anchor repair of the tendons resulting in good clinical outcome in several case series...

BACKGROUND: To investigate the association between running exposure and the risk of hamstring strain injury (HSI) in elite Australian footballers. METHODS: Elite Australian footballers (n=220) from 5 different teams participated. Global positioning system (GPS) data were provided for every athlete for each training session and match for the entire 2015 season. The occurrences of HSIs throughout the study period were reported. Receiver operator characteristic curve analyses were performed and the relative risk (RR) of subsequent HSI was calculated for absolute and relative running exposure variables related to distance covered above 10 and 24 km/hour in the preceding week/s...

The rehabilitation process begins immediately after injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The goal of preoperative rehabilitation is to prepare the patient for surgery. Current rehabilitation programs focus on strengthening exercises and proprioceptive and neuromuscular control drills to provide a neurologic stimulus. It is also important to address preexisting factors, especially for the female athlete, that may predispose to future injury, such as hip and hamstring weakness. Our goal in the rehabilitation program is to restore full, unrestricted function and to assist the patient to return to 100% of the preinjury level while achieving excellent long-term outcomes...

Iguchi, J, Watanabe, Y, Kimura, M, Fujisawa, Y, Hojo, T, Yuasa, Y, Higashi, S, and Kuzuhara, K. Risk factors for injury among Japanese collegiate players of American football based on performance test results. J Strength Cond Res 30(12): 3405-3411, 2016-The purpose of this study was to identify how risk factors for injury during American football are related to players' physical strength as determined using typical performance tests. One hundred 53 Japanese collegiate players of American football were recruited for this study...

INTRODUCTION: Chronic ACL insufficiency with associated varus malalignment due to knee osteoarthritis (OA) is challenging to treat surgically. A combined ACL reconstruction (ACLR) with medial open wedge high tibial osteotomy (HTO) without using any metallic implant for HTO is an effective technique. MATERIALS AND METHOD: All the patients attending the outpatient department ACL injury and with associated medial compartment OA (Kellegren's grade 2 and grade 3) were considered for inclusion in the study...

Following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture, reconstructive surgery (ALCR) is often performed to mechanically stabilise the knee, however functional deficits often persist long after surgery. Impaired single-limb standing balance has been observed in the ACLR limb compared to healthy individuals. However, it remains inconclusive as to whether these same balance deficits exist between the injured and contralateral uninjured limbs, during challenging balance tasks, and at a time when patients are permitted to return to sport...

: The complete proximal hamstring avulsion is relatively uncommon injury and predominantly occurs in young athletes but causes significant functional impairment. In chronic cases, the muscle mass is so much retracted that primary repair is not possible. A surgical technique for reconstruction of chronic proximal hamstring avulsion using contralateral semitendinosus and gracilis autograft is described in this case report. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: V.

Volleyball players performed numerous repetitions of spike actions, which uses and requires strong and explosive force, and control of the muscles of the shoulder, lower back, and legs. Muscle imbalance is one of the main causes of sport injuries. The purpose of this study was to assess isokinetic muscle functions in male volleyball players. We thus aim to accurately evaluate their muscle functions, and identify the best training strategy to achieve optimal muscle strength balance in future training programs...

The incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries is rising every year. The autologous hamstring tendon graft, using semitendinosus tendon (SMT) and gracilis tendon (GR), is a common repair technique in the management of ACL injuries due to its multiple advantages. Using a final graft with a minimum diameter of 8 mm is necessary to avoid graft failure. The aim of this study was to find a correlation between preoperative ultrasound (USG) measurement of the SMT and GR tendon diameters (SMTd and GRd) and their actual diameters measured during the grafting procedure...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to compare the clinical outcome of ACL reconstructions in patients older than 40 years of age to younger subjects. It has been hypothesized that patients older than 40 years of age achieve comparable clinical outcomes following acute ACL reconstruction using a hamstring tendon autograft than younger patients. METHODS: Patients with an isolated ACL tear without any concomitant injuries and subsequent ACL reconstruction within 48 h from injury were included in this prospective study...

BACKGROUND: The FASH (Functional Assessment Scale for Acute Hamstring Injuries) questionnaire has been recently developed as a disease-specific self-administered questionnaire for use in Greek, English, and German languages. Its psychometric qualities (validity and reliability) were tested only in Greek-speaking patients mainly representing track and field athletes. As hamstring injuries represent the most common football injury, we tested the validity and reliability of the FASH-G (G = German version) questionnaire in German-speaking footballers suffering from acute hamstring injuries...

BACKGROUND: The current literature on the value of clinical evaluation for predicting time to return to sport (RTS) after acute hamstring injuries has not been systematically summarised. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature on the prognostic value of clinical findings (patient history and physical examination) for time to RTS after acute hamstring injuries in athletes. DATA SOURCES: The databases PubMed, EMBASE, SPORTDiscus and Cochrane Library were searched between October 2014 and August 2015...

BACKGROUND: Hamstring injuries are among the most common non-contact injuries in sports. The Nordic hamstring (NH) exercise has been shown to decrease risk by increasing eccentric hamstring strength. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the effectiveness of the injury prevention programs that included the NH exercise on reducing hamstring injury rates while factoring in athlete workload. METHODS: Two researchers independently searched for eligible studies using the following databases: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials via OvidSP, AMED (Allied and Complementary Medicine) via OvidSP, EMBASE, PubMed, MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, CINAHL and AusSportMed, from inception to December 2015...

BACKGROUND: Injury prevention measures might reduce the impact of injury on footballers and football clubs. Increasing research has evaluated the use of exercise for injury prevention. However, research has focused on adolescent females. No high-quality systematic reviews have evaluated the efficacy of all forms of exercise on preventing injury in adult male football. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to conduct a systematic review to evaluate the efficacy of exercise in preventing injury in adult male football...

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of different strike forms, during cutting, on knee joint angle and lower limb muscle activity. METHODS: Surface electromyography was used to measure muscle activity in individuals performing cutting manoeuvres involving either rearfoot strikes (RFS) or forefoot strikes (FFS). Three-dimensional motion analysis was used to calculate changes in knee angles, during cutting, and to determine the relationship between muscle activity and knee joint angle...

Hamstrings muscle fiber composition may be predominantly fast-twitch and could explain the high incidence of hamstrings strain injuries. However, hamstrings muscle composition in vivo, and its influence on knee flexor muscle function, remains unknown. We investigated biceps femoris long head (BFlh) myosin heavy chain (MHC) composition from biopsy samples, and the association of hamstrings composition and hamstrings muscle volume (using MRI) with knee flexor maximal and explosive strength. Thirty-one young men performed maximal (concentric, eccentric, isometric) and explosive (isometric) contractions...

Quadriceps and hamstring injuries occur frequently in football and are generally treated conservatively. While return to competition following hamstring strains is relatively quick, a high rate of injury recurrence highlights the importance of targeted rehabilitation and conditioning. This review describes the clinical manifestations of thigh-related soft-tissue injuries seen in football players. Two of these-muscle strains and contusions-are relatively common, while a third condition-the Morel-Lavallée lesion-is a rare, yet relevant injury...

Pain and other disorders of the knee are a common presenting complaint in the ambulatory setting. Although the cornerstones of imaging evaluation of the knee are radiographs and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, ultrasonography (US) is less expensive than MR imaging, easily available, and of comparable accuracy in the evaluation of certain pathologic conditions of the knee. The benefits of US include portability, low cost, high spatial resolution, dynamic imaging, and ability to guide percutaneous interventions when indicated...